A couple days ago I met a friend that goes by Shaq. He wondered his way into the buidling that I am currently working out of and he introduced himself to me. He is a 18 year old black boy that carries a steeze in his walk, he's roughly six feet tall and has freshly faded haircut. We started shootin’ ball on the mini hoop that hangs from the office door and getting to know each other a little bit. After a quick 10 minutes of talking to him I could tell one thing.. He was from the hood, and when I say hood, I mean HOOD. He was telling me about everyone that has done him wrong in the past and the crazy things that he's seen while living in “brick city.” For example, when some guy that he knew (an innocent bystander) got shot for riding his bicycle in the wrong neighborhood. Oh and a story about a grown adult killing a kid for some cash just to get enough money for the next drug fix. After hearing some of these stories me and shaq got into a conversation that covered just about everything you could cover when meeting someone on a first time basis (Girls, School, Life, Family, Past, Future, Etc.). It was safe to say that by the time the conversation ended WE WERE BOYS. The fact that I finally managed to make a friend had me on cloud nine. We got done shooting hoops, finished up our conversation and said our goodbyes for the day and he went home. I continued working for a few days before I had another encounter with him; The second time I came across him, it was on “his turf.” I was walking home from work at a fast pace with my backpack strapped to my shoulders as I usually do when someone shouted “What’s Good Kal.” I looked back and sure it enough, It was him! We started talking for a bit and it spiraled into us getting a drink from the gas station and hanging out for a bit. We were kicking it in the streets and I got introduced to all of Shaq’s hoodlum friends which was super cool. Shaq asked me if I wanted to go to his house and get introduced to his family. I said yes so we started walking and we got there after a draining 5 minute walk ;). I met his Fam and they were Dope! We went outside after talking to his family for about 10 minutes. I was sitting on his front porch when I realized that Shaq only lived one short block away from where I'm staying. Do you know what the means? I LIVE IN THE HOOD. THE REAL HOOD. It’s safe to say that I was pretty oblivious to what was going on around me. I had no idea of the things that were happening just minutes away from my front door, the amount of people that are getting killed on a weekly basis or how many gang members there really are. Walking around these streets for one short day with my new homie has taught me so many things. I’m just lucky to say that I have a friend like shaq that is helping me to develop some respect on the block. If it wasn't for him I would have probably been robbed days ago. It’s crazy to think that the kids out here come out the womb having to watch their own back; I’ve never had to watch my own back or worry about a stranger ever taking anything out of my pocket. It took me being here to be thankful for that. There are so many things that I have taken for granted throughout my life. If there is one thing to be said its that “no matter what situation you're in, someone in the hood has it worse.” So be thankful for what you have and for the kind people that surround you. PS: shaq got enrolled to the business program that I'm associated with and he's going to make it big time, Mark my words.
